NCJ Number
100122
Date Published
1986
Length
331 pages
Annotation
This text reviews police administrative functions, discusses the characteristics of effective police administration in various areas, and describes and critiques police organizational structure.
Abstract
After discussing the general nature of police administration, the book focuses on the police responsibilities of order maintenance, law enforcement, emergency services, and crime prevention. A discussion of leadership characteristics is followed by an analysis of management's use of authority and power to resolve organizational conflicts. The dynamics and tasks of decisionmaking and organizing are examined before considering an organization's evolutionary process, symptoms of 'bureau pathology,' and organizational politics. Two chapters cover police operations in general and particular (patrol, investigations, traffic, and tactical teams) as well as services (administrative, technical, evidence processing, jail management, physical plant, and crime laboratory). Other chapters cover research and planning, staffing (job analysis, recruiting, and selection), training, performance appraisals, policymaking and ethics, and practical administration. The book advocates a participative management style, decentralization, and delegation. Each chapter contains case studies and a synopsis of court cases involving civil suits against police administrators. Chapter discussion questions and references are provided, along with a subject index.